Tracked links
A tracked link is a personal copy of your share link for one recipient. When that person opens it, Zidi shows you that they viewed the video.
Available on: Free, Starter and Pro
How a tracked link works
A tracked link is your normal share link with a personal code added to the end:
https://app.zidi.ai/preview/<video-id>?vt=<personal-code>- Each link belongs to one email address.
- If you create a link for the same email again, you get the same link back.
- Anyone who opens the link counts as that recipient. A forwarded link is still credited to them.
- The video plays exactly as it does on the normal share link, with the same password, if any.
Create a tracked link
- In the sidebar, click My Library and open the video.
- Click Share, then open the Share with tracking tab.
- Enter the recipient's email address.
- Click Generate Tracked Link.
- The link is copied for you. Paste it into your own email, chat or message to that person.
Zidi does not email the recipient in this case. You send the link yourself.
Only the video owner can create tracked links.
Email the link from your own mail server
Zidi can also send the email for you. It sends through your own mail account, using SMTP. SMTP is the standard way apps send mail through an email provider such as Gmail or Outlook.
- In the Share with tracking tab, click Set Up SMTP.
- Fill in the Set Up Email Sending form and click Save. Then click Test Connection. Zidi sends you a test email. See Set up email sending for each field.
- When the connection is verified, the tab shows Send Email and Generate Link.
- Enter the email address. To add a note, click + Add a message (up to 1,000 characters).
- Click Send Email.
The recipient gets an email from your address with:
- the subject "<your name> shared a video: <video title>"
- your message, if you added one
- the video thumbnail and a Watch Video button that opens their tracked link
- the footer "Sent via Zidi"
Generate Link still works after setup. Use it when you want to send the link yourself.
See who watched
After you create your first tracked link, the video page shows a Share Tracking panel. Only you see it.
- The heading shows how many recipients viewed, for example "2 of 5 viewed".
- Click the heading to see each recipient.
- Each row shows the email, when you created the link ("Sent 5m ago"), the number of views, and a Viewed or Not viewed badge.
- The icon next to the heading opens the tracked-link dialog again.
What a tracked link tells you
A plain share link is anonymous. A tracked link attaches the recipient's email to their views. Zidi also knows who is watching when the viewer is signed in to Zidi.
| Where | What you see for a tracked recipient | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Share Tracking panel | Viewed or not, and the number of views | All plans |
| Slack | A message when they reach 50%, 80% and 100% of the video | Pro |
| Your CRM | One watch note, created at 50% and updated at 80% and 100% | Pro |
| Zapier and Make | An engagement event at 50%, 80% and 100% | Pro |
Most CRMs update only people who already exist there. ActiveCampaign and Copper also create the person if they are missing. See CRM sync.
Video analytics counts tracked views with all other views. It does not list viewers by name.
Limits
Creating a link and sending an email each count toward these limits.
| Plan | Per minute | Per hour | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 10 | 20 | 20 |
| Starter | 10 | 50 | 100 |
| Pro | 15 | 100 | 250 |
| Any plan, in a team | 30 | 300 | 1,000 |
If you belong to a team, the whole team shares one allowance.
Tracked links or campaigns?
Tracked links suit a few people at a time. To send personal links to a list, use Campaigns. Campaigns take a CSV file, personalise each page, track watch percentage per recipient and send emails in batches. The Share Tracking panel links there with Go to Campaigns.
Troubleshooting
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| "Failed to generate tracked link" | The link was not created. You may have reached a limit above. Wait a few minutes and try again. |
| "per-minute limit reached", "per-hour limit reached" or "daily limit reached" | You reached the limit for your plan. Try again later. These messages appear when you click Send Email. With Generate Tracked Link you see "Failed to generate tracked link" instead. |
| "SMTP not configured or not verified. Set up SMTP in Settings first." | Your mail settings are missing or not tested. The message mentions Settings, but you set up email from the Set Up SMTP link in the Share with tracking tab. |
| "Message is too long (max 1000 characters)" | Shorten your personal message. |
| "Video not found" | Only the video owner can create tracked links for a video. This message appears when you click Send Email. |
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